Chapter Twenty-Six

“We’ve received word from iNASA-Climate and Halikkon,” Eva said, barging into her husband’s lab. Rosa looked up from the paperwork he was doing, thankful to see his wife standing in the doorway; he loathed paperwork.

“And?” he pressed. “What did they say?”

“Confirmation. Argosys has been permanently wiped from TITAN. The hackers are out!”

“That’s amazing news!”

“Well, yes, it is,” his wife said as she continued walking into the lab and made herself at home. She shoved some schematics off a chair and took a seat.

“They have lowered the security lockdown to Sev-3, after an investigation yielded findings that Argosys had fled underground and was in hiding, not actively targeting TITAN staff. But I’m still worried.”

“They compromised nothing; we have verified the systems are all intact. They failed.”

She shook her head, picking up a generator component from the stack of spare parts on the table.

“We would have known if they successfully changed any of the configurations; apparently iNASA-Climate and Halikkon still had full control. If Argosys actually had inserted anything, the AI would have immediately changed it back and blocked the connection.”

He nodded, “So, are they upgrading the security protocols and adding extra guards?”

“Yes, but I’m not sure from which country yet. And I’m sure if one government goes, they all will. It’s always all or nothing,” she said, chuckling.

“I suppose all we can do is hope for the best,” her husband stated and sighed, seemingly defeated.

“What do you think Argosys was planning to do with it? Steal the data?”

She shook her head, knowing it was probably much more than that.

“Data maybe, a threat, possibly. With TITAN in their hands, they’d have not only an expensive bargaining chip but also a deadly one. If they turn it back on—Or… Who knows, they may have even been attempting to reverse it, trying to undo the harm that TITAN has caused. We just don’t know. They might have been struggling to save us, in the way they believe is best.”

“All possible, some likely. Aura would know. She needs to be questioned.”

“Hun, shut down and come. We’ve got to get ready for Vik’s party.”

Noon had fast approached, and the once serene house bustled with teens, most of whom Viktoriya didn’t even know their names.

Her mom had invited Choe and a few kids from her daughter’s online class. And though most weren’t exactly close friends with her, a few had turned up for her fifteenth birthday. Likely because of their parents’ prodding, making sure they appeared friendly and polite, attending the dear, troubled girl’s birthday.

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“You just had to ask them to come, anyway. Didn’t you?”

After escorting the teens to their game room, her mom continued to their large dining area to prepare the party table.

Viktoriya could not bring herself to hang out alongside the other children, so she took Choe by the hand and began walking toward her room.

Once inside, she turned and locked the door. Her mother had not noticed, but CLEFF had not missed her. He followed them all the way and took up his station just inside her door.

She lay on her bed, her head facing the ceiling. She thought of all the times when Aura would lie beside her and tell her stories that would help her sleep.

They would all laugh so hard until they were too tired, and when Aura woke up the next day, she had either prepared breakfast or ordered some spectacular morning feast delivered right to the door.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them. A faint remembrance of Aura appeared, smiling at her, and slowly the vision faded away.

She lay there for a long time, utterly oblivious to how long she had been there.

“What are you thinking about?” Choe asked.

“Aunt Aura. I wonder if she is okay.”

“Me too. My mom is worried sick about her,” Choe replied. The two lay on the bed, hands placed on their chest and eyes glued to the white ceiling.

Rosa’s phone rang again—Edmund had an update.

Eva could not believe what she was hearing about TITAN. It was as though the lot of them had gone completely mad. The words they kept landing on were for one of their own. Terrorist. Killer. Criminal.

No. None of that was possible.

She knew Aura, and the Aura she had known all her life was not who they were making her out to be.

She felt exhausted. Her normal high-energy, problem-solving cadence had all but fizzled. Everything was one big nightmare. One she wished she could awaken from, but it was happening in real-time, and they knew it.

Aura was on the run, and there were killer androids out there hunting her like a wolf would its prey.

Rosa continued trying to persuade them to call off the dogs and send in a less brutal force, but no one considered it an option.

He knew corruption existed in all government agencies, but finding out that they were all too afraid or cornered by Edmund was cause enough for a migraine. His judgment was final and unquestionable in his circles.

“Look, Aura is not a terrorist. She is not dangerous. This must be one big misunderstanding. A milder force like the minions could follow her scent, track her down, and recover her more safely than the Dark Snare. I mean, she is one of us—”

“Was,” Edmund said, cutting him off. “She was one of us until she betrayed us and continually did so. Even until this very day.”

“Look, Ed. It’s Vik’s fifteenth birthday, and we have kids in the house. I’m sorry, but we really have to go.”

He gulped; their effort was not yielding any fruit, but at least he would go to bed knowing he tried all he could to call off the attacks.

But even then, would his conscience let him be should something happen to her? Whatever she was up to, he knew the real Aura.

She was one of the kindest people one could ever meet, and nothing could convince him otherwise. So there had to be a misunderstanding.

Back in the privacy of her room, Viktoriya and Choe shared their memories of Aura, smiling faintly. They could not imagine what would happen. Aura had always been there for them when they had nightmares and could not sleep at night.

She would lay beside them and cuddle them until they fell asleep, and if they pleaded, she would stay with them throughout the night. She rarely disagreed.

Now it was their time to help her.

“Do you think she needs our help?” Choe asked.

“The Dark Snare is after her. I think she does. Do you think I should go to her apartment and see if I can find her?”

“Her apartment?” Choe repeated, sitting up, “It’s too risky. Your mom will come looking for you. Vik, you’re not even at your own party!”

“You can cover for me until I return,” she answered and sat up, too.

“What if the Dark Snare catches you?”

“They are not after me. They are after Aura.”

Viktoriya knew she needed to do something about it. She could not just sit in her room. The questions were eating her up, and there was nobody around to give her answers. She would have to find them herself.

“Okay, I can cover for you,” Choe replied.